Hello again. Today's lesson is mow to make a universal undercover for both gathered end and bridge hammocks. One size fit all. First off, what is an undercover and what does it do? An undercover is nothing more than a hammock sized piece of material made from breathable ripstop 1.1 or 1.6/9 DWR that covers the entire bottom of a hammock - not tightly, but loosely . Its only purpose is to trap heat and to block wind. Temperature gains are anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees. It can be used with or without an underquilt. I always bring an undercover in cool/cold weather. An added benefit is it acts as a rain/mist/fog guard for your hammock and underquilt.

First you need 12' (4 yds) of material - breathable ripstop 1.1/1.6/1.9 with a DWR treatment at least 60" wide. If you use a waterproof material you will soak your underquilt and hammock from condensation. You will also need 8 ft of 3/32 or 1/8" shockcord and 6 cord locks.

To begin, hem the long edges with a 1/2" roll hem. Now do a 3/4 to 1" roll hem on the head and foot end. Sounds like making a gathered end hammock, right? Yep.

Now find the centers of the long side. Mark it and then make 2 more marks 1 ft on either side of the first mark. The 2 ft section on each side you will now simply fold the hem over to create a 1/2" channel thats 2 ft long. Now insert a 2 ft piece of shock cord in each channel. Put a cord lock on both ends of the shock cord.

Now for the foot and head ends - Run a 2ft piece of shock cord thru the channels and gather than just like a hammock end. Use 1 cord lock to secure both end of the shock cord.

Your all done. For a gathered end hammock you simply loop the shock cord over the ends of your hammock. Adjust the amount of space underneath the hammock with to two side shock cords. For a bridge hammock just put the triangle ends thru the shock corded gathered ends.

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